


The Hermit

by CrawlCrawlCrawl



Series: The Hermit [1]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Flashbacks, Gen, as canon compliant as possible
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:13:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28183713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrawlCrawlCrawl/pseuds/CrawlCrawlCrawl
Summary: There are rumours of a beast living deep in the forest near town, one that devours any children that dare to wander near its den. They call it The Hermit.
Series: The Hermit [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2135061
Comments: 8
Kudos: 37





	1. The Town

After having defeated the twisted Soul Master in the City of Tears, the Knight had obtained the Desolate Dive ability. In light of this new upgrade, the Knight was wandering through the Forgotten Crossroads in an attempt to possibly discover a previously unreachable path. The crossroads were as filled with husks as ever, their shambling corpses being swiftly cut down by the Knight’s trusty nail without so much as a second thought, its hollow gaze staring ahead as it searched and searched through the dead highways.

Eventually, after scouring the crossroads for a while, slaying Vengeflies and dodging Goams, the Knight wandered into a nook in the south-east side of the crossroads, near the charm lover Salubra’s shop, her incessant chuckling being audible in the distance. The cave was dark, with lichen growing in the corners, and the floor was oddly shaky, the stone jittering as the Knight stepped on the ground. It knew what it had to do. Mustering soul throughout its body, it rose into the air and swiftly smashed through the ground, sending debris everywhere as it rocketed down a hidden shaft. The blue colours of the crossroads gave way to beiges and browns as the Knight eventually reached the end of its descent, crashing into the ground with enough force to destroy a weaker bug’s legs with ease. After the dust settled, rising from a crouch, the Knight stared ahead at the exit of the shaft, a faint glow emanating from the passageway. Without any hesitation, it walked forward into the unknown.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The passageway had led to a small clearing, the walls and ceilings of the caves lit up by lumafly lamp posts that marked a pathway forward. It was a rather uneventful walk down the path, with markedly fewer Crawlids and Tiktiks than would be found in the crossroads. Eventually, the Knight reached the end of the path, coming upon the remains of an archway. It was clearly losing the battle against time, most of it crumbled away with vegetation growing around it, but it’s size still left quite an impression. Well, it would, if the Knight could feel such awe. A sign stood next to the archway, its words slightly faded but still intelligible:

“Welcome to the farming town, Willden”

Stepping through the archway and up the stairs chiselled into the beige stone, the Knight made its way into the town. It was a relatively large settlement, with many shell-shaped houses of various sizes lining the streets within, although much like most of Hallownest these homes had been vacated of sentient life due to the infection. All that remained were the husks of the former residents, both adult and child, limply wandering throughout the now-abandoned town in an infection-induced haze. If it could feel emotions, the Knight would undoubtedly feel sorrow for these poor bugs. The Knight made its way through the village, cutting down any husk that attempted to attack, even the children, whose attacks barely harmed the Knight at all. It was for the best, better to put them out of their misery than to force them to suffer in their eternal sleep. Even then, the husks would probably reanimate after a while, they always seemed to at some point. 

The Knight made its way into a few homes, pilfering through the ruins for any trinkets or charms. This resulted in finding a bit of Geo, many Wanderer’s Journals to be sold to Lemm, and even a charm that allowed the Knight to crawl on walls. That would be handy. The Knight eventually found a study in the back of one of the homes, with one piece of writing on a silk paper dead center on the desk within the heart of the study. Lightly picking it up, the Knight began to read its contents.

“The end has come. After having fought this plague for ages, desperately clinging to the hope that maybe a saviour will arrive, the end has finally come to claim us. I have been forced to bury my parents and my love, and now my dear children are next. The king has disappeared and with Him all of our hope. This will be my last writing, even now I can feel the dull throb of Her light growing in the corners of my vision, beckoning me into the endless sleep. Larken, Olly, and my dear Prome, I love you. I’m sorry.”

Discarding the letter, the Knight proceeded to leave the home, back out into the streets of the town, where it spotted the town square. The center of Willden was built around a large pond, the water of which came from a small stream leading out of the Blue Lake. In days past, this surely was a large hub for the town’s community, but now it is absent, and the water has grown filthy from stagnation. While most of the paths leading from the town square led to more housing or crop fields, the Knight noticed one path that seemed to lead into a deep undergrowth, with many signs indicating danger and a rickety gate blocking off entry. The lock required a key, however the gate was flimsy enough that the Knight could easily cleave through it, giving access into the forest. A sign next to the gate read, in ominous wording:

“Ahead lies the Hermit’s den. Do not proceed any further if you value your life.”

Unfettered by this warning, the Knight began to make its way into the undergrowth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The path from town had long since disappeared, and the Knight had been wandering through the maze-like forest for what seemed like hours. The shrubbery was a dark blue, and blocked out all light from the town, causing the forest to be pitch black. In spite of this, the Knight felt no fear as it trudged through the labyrinth of plantlife, going continuously in one direction until it found an exit. Every minor location began to mesh together, and for any other bug, the thought of being lost forever may become a valid concern.

Suddenly, a rustling came from nearby bushes. The Knight steeled itself, prepared for battle, but no foe arrived. Everything was tense for a moment, as the rustling continued and continued, however it eventually stopped, bringing an uneasy calm to the forest. Just as the Knight was about to let down their guard, a massive beast leapt out of the foliage, eyes dripping with infection and ready to attack the little ghost.

The creature lunged at the Knight, and the Knight dodged to the side, striking the creature with its nail as the creature went by. The monster let out a howling screech as it oozed infection onto the ground, and at this moment the Knight got a better look at the creature; it was four-legged with a massive horn on its head, sharp enough to spear any unwary bug with ease, and was about twice the size of the Knight. As it was distracted with its wound, the Knight went in for the finishing blow, but the creature began to thrash around, knocking the Knight to the ground. As the creature began to approach, the Knight dashed into battle again, jumped up, and pierced the creature’s head with its nail. The creature went limp immediately, and the Knight pulled its nail out of the head of the rabid beast.

Wiping off its nail, the Knight began to make its way away from the scene of the fight and back on its way through the forest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eventually, after what seemed like ages, the Knight found a clearing in the jungle, leading to a dark cave, one with small lookouts above the entrance. Pikes were scattered across the clearing, clearly having formerly been lit ablaze to provide light, now no longer housing even a single ember. The entrance to the cave seemed almost to have jaws, tempting travellers into its inky black depths, before swallowing them whole. The ground around the entrance was scratched up, signifying signs of a struggle.

With no trepidation, the Knight stalked into the cave. As it entered the darkness, it began to reach for its lumafly lantern, but before it could a voice echoed throughout the cave.

“I see someone has stumbled into my abode.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This is my first fanfiction, so constructive criticism and general feedback are appreciated!  
> Hope you enjoyed!


	2. The Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A monster, a tale, and a brave child.

One by one, lumafly lamps began to light up, the little bugs being roused from their slumber. They illuminated the cave, revealing its contents to the Knight; many knick-knacks were scattered about, brown cloths draping the walls and a few makeshift chairs and a table chiselled out of stone in the corner. However, the most striking thing revealed by the light was a tall, masked figure that stood imposingly above the Knight, gazing into its lifeless eyes.

“Hm. A vessel, in this place? How peculiar.” it spoke, continuing to stare at the little ghost, with a touch of disbelief.

The Knight took a better look at the figure starting at the bottom; it had four chitinous legs, wore a dull brown cloak that went down only to its waist, and had gangly arms reaching out of the armholes in its clothing. Its defining attribute, its circular mask, had three angry eyes on it, each glowering down at the little ghost, a gaze that would instil fear into the heart of any bug. Or rather, any normal bug. The figure sized up the Knight for a moment longer, before turning around and sitting on one of the chairs, addressing the Knight more directly.

“Hello, insignificant one. I am spoken of by many names, but most call me the Hermit. What brings you into my home, unannounced?” the Hermit said, judging the Knight. When his question was not answered, he sighed.

“Ah yes, you cannot speak. Silly me. Regardless, while I would prefer you leave and never return, something tells me you plan on sticking around for a while longer.” he said, and sighed again. “But why, I wonder? Do you want something from me? I suppose there’s no way to tell. Hmm… maybe I have something.”

The Hermit stood up from the chair and began to make his way into a previously unseen hallway, rummaging through a pile of random objects in another room. After tossing a few items away, the Hermit settled on a particularly shiny object. Walking back into the main room, he handed the object to the Knight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LIGHTBRINGER ORB 

A small marble composed of a highly reflected substance.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Allows the owner to reflect particularly condensed beams of light.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I have no use for this old trinket. You’d probably find more use in it than I would.” the Hermit said indifferently, “It was a gift from… an old friend, I suppose you could call him, although I never felt particularly close to him.”

After placing the Lightbringer Orb into the Knight’s hands, the Hermit stared at it expectantly.

“Well? You’re going to leave now, are you not?” he said. When the Knight didn’t move an inch, the Hermit mumbled grumpily to himself. “Gah, how annoying. Why do I always have to deal with these types of bugs?”

Suddenly getting dangerously close to the Knight, the Hermit fiercely gripped its left horn, lifting it up and bringing it face to face with the angered being.

“LEAVE. NOW. Before I MAKE you. Understand, vessel?” he spoke with contempt. Dropping the unfazed Knight, he stalked back into the hallway, turning a corner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Hermit was in his nest and had just started re-reading an old tale from when he was young. It was a tale of a dashing young knight on a quest to save a vulnerable maiden, quite cliche when he thought about it more, but he still enjoyed the story. The lumafly lanterns hung on the walls were slightly dimmed, providing a certain calm to the room. This calm was broken when a familiar vessel entered the room. The Hermit, noticing the intrusion, immediately grumbled and buried his mask in his hands, and growled at the Knight.

“Despite my clear wording, you still continue to haunt my home. What a nuisance.” Setting down the tablet he was reading, the Hermit turned to the Knight. “And what do you want now?” he bitterly said.

The Knight simply approached the Hermit, and sat down in front of him, staring at him with its vacant eyes.

“Err… what? I… I don’t quite understand.” he said, befuddled. The Knight just continued to stare ahead. The Hermit, completely confused, looked directly at the Knight, as if searching for something within its eyes. Its mask revealed no hidden information, and sighing, the Hermit resigned himself to the situation. “You baffle me. You act almost as if you have a will. How odd…”

Slouching back into his chair, the Hermit took one last long look at the Knight. Its head was tilted as a slight angle, its legs folded, and its hands on its lap. Deciding that he didn’t have much else to do, the Hermit addressed the Knight.

“Given that you’re here, I might as well tell you a story about myself. You seem like a good listener, after all. Hahah.” Getting no response from the Knight, he began to regale the story about how he met with Hallownest’s royalty.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Olly was afraid of nothing. He wasn’t afraid of the bullies, vengeflies, the infection, and certainly not some monster. There were rumours of a beast living deep in the forest near town, one that devours any children that dare to wander near its den. They called it the Hermit. No one knows when it showed up in the forest, but what they did know were the rumours. Taller than the average bug, with spindly limbs and a haunting three-eyed mask, the beast would eat innocent children and kill any non-sentient bug, putting their heads on pikes. It had been an urban legend for some time now, there had even been signs placed outside the forest to warn bugs of the dangers of the Hermit.

Despite the horrifying rumours, Olly felt a strange interest in the Hermit. While his parents had warned him of entering the forest, much like any other parents would, the thought of getting proof of or debunking its existence excited him beyond all belief. What if it wasn’t real? Then no one would have to be afraid anymore!

It was just another average dinner in Olly’s home as the thought of the Hermit’s existence crept through his mind. He was sitting at the table with his mom and dad, and his brother Larken. They were having a meal of grilled tiktik, one of Olly’s favourites. He was particularly deep in thought when his mother’s voice broke his focus.

“Olly, dear, you’ve been picking at your food for quite some time. Is everything alright?” she said, clearly concerned. 

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” he quickly replied.

His mother gave him a suspicious glance, before muttering an “alright” and returning to her meal. The cluttering of dishes resumed as Olly began to focus more on his meal, however the mystery of the Hermit still plagued his mind. 

The rest of the night went on fairly normally, but when night came around Olly found himself staring up at the ceiling while lying in bed. He couldn’t stop thinking about the Hermit. Sitting up in his bed, he decided; he was going to go into the forest and try to find the Hermit. Taking one glance into his mirror, looking over himself and then taking a few items and provisions, he made his way to the window and wrenched it open, and then jumped out into the street. He ran his way down the streets of Willden, their lumafly lamps no longer illuminating the town, a surefire sign that it was nighttime. Making a turn at the town square, he went down the path that led to the forest. Reaching the end of the path, he leapt right over the gate that blocked the way and ran into the forest, dead set to find the horrid beast.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Olly was fairly deep into the forest when he started to regret his decision. He had been lost for what felt like hours, and he couldn’t tell what time it was as there were no lumafly lamps around. It had been a tortuous trudge through the undergrowth, he was losing energy and hope that he would ever find a way out, let alone find a monster. He was nibbling on one of the provisions he had brought with him anxiously, desperate to find any sort of landmark in this wyrmforsaken jungle. Just as he was about to turn around and try to make his way back home, he came across a clearing in the forest; a large area filled with pikes, each burning a bright orange flame. They were quite refreshing to see after being stuck in the pitch dark forest for ages, and Olly silently thanked the Wyrm for this discovery. What the pikes illuminated was far more interesting; a massive cave lying right ahead of him. It was quite the imposing sight, the inky darkness within possibly being host to all kinds of danger.

“Is this the Hermit’s home?” Olly wondered aloud, however he immediately regretted this as a grumbling sound came from nearby.

Looking to the source of the noise revealed a massive, quadrupedal creature with a large horn, chained by a collar to a pike at the far right of the cave’s entrance. Olly immediately tried to find something to hide behind, but when he didn’t find anything he resorted to lying prone on the ground, studying the creature intently for any activity. The creature appeared to be asleep, which was quite lucky. Olly began to crawl his way to the mouth of the cave, stopping every now and then whenever the creature made a noise in its sleep. It was an arduous process, but eventually Olly made his way to the entrance of the cave, got up, and quickly ducked into the dark unknown.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The inside of the cave was surprisingly warm, and quite a few things were littered on the ground. Olly flailed around in the dark for a while before a noise from deep within the cave caused him to stop in his tracks. Steeling himself, he stood as still as possible as footsteps began to approach the young bug. Suddenly, the entire cave lit up, brightened by many lumafly lamps and lanterns, and the light revealed a giant masked figure standing tall right before him. The figure immediately dashed in front of Olly, and let out a harrowing scream.

“EEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!” it bellowed, and made several swiping motions before standing back. Olly was in a battle stance and hadn’t moved an inch, completely unfazed by the sudden “attack”. When he noticed the figure hadn’t continued its attack, he immediately began to speak to the figure.

“Are you the Hermit?” he asked in a hushed tone, and the figure, taken aback by Olly’s lack of fear at its theatrics, immediately began to stutter.

“W… what?! Why aren’t you scared?!” it said. The voice was clearly male, and it was at this moment that Olly got a better look at the figure. The figure clearly wasn’t a bug native to Hallownest, as Olly didn’t recognize his species. Looking closer, he noticed more about the figure. Those spindly limbs, brown cloak, and three-eyed mask matched the descriptors of the Hermit perfectly.

“So you are real.” Olly spoke under his breath, and the Hermit sighed and began to speak.

“Yes. I am the Hermit, and I am real. Now what do you want, how did you get here, and why haven’t you run away already?” he said. Olly sized him up. Despite his intimidating appearance, the way he carried himself was like that of an overworked palace worker on break; exhausted and grumpy.

Olly then went on to explain his day in excruciating detail, leaving not a single part of the day unmentioned, all the while the Hermit stood there, clearly annoyed at the young bug’s incessant rambling. After babbling for many grueling minutes, Olly eventually reached the end of his long diatribe.

“...and then I went into the forest to try and find you.” Olly finished.

“Well, you found me. Congratulations. Now you can leave.” the Hermit responded indignantly, and began to push the young bug into the direction of the outside. When Olly didn’t move after having been pushed, the Hermit huffed.

“Well? I said, you can leave. Please don’t tell me you plan on sticking around?” he said bitterly. Olly didn’t miss a beat in responding.

“Where did the rumours come from? You clearly aren’t the bloodthirsty monster that they make you out to be.” he said. The Hermit sighed.

“Fine, I guess you won’t listen to me.” he spoke tiredly, “Well, I don’t necessarily know what the rumours exactly are having lived in this cave for as long as I can remember, but I assume they come from the fact that I scare off all the children that wander into here.”

“Why do you do that?” Olly said.

“Why do you think, simpleton? I want to be left alone. Just me alone in this corner of the forest forever.” the Hermit said.

“Don’t you have something more you want to do?” Olly naively asked, and the Hermit growled, clearly getting fed up with the situation.

“No, I don’t!” he shouted. It was a bad lie. A lie so bad that even a child could see through it. Well, a child did in fact see through it.

“You’re a bad liar, mister.” Olly said, and the Hermit began to get even more agitated.

“Be quiet, you insolent little brat! I could crush you with my bare hands if I wanted, I wouldn’t anger me like this!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Just admit it, mister.” Olly said. The Hermit, realizing that he wasn’t going to win this battle, gave up and sighed.

“Fine. I do have one thing I want.” he said, and sat down on one of the nearby chairs, resting his chin on his hands. “Of all things, I most want a mate. One that I could share my entire life with, one that I could love with all my heart. It is the thing I desire the most.”

“How are you going to find a mate just hiding away in this cave all the time?” Olly asked, and the Hermit grumbled. The child had a good point, but he didn’t want to admit it. “If you came back to town with me, maybe you could find a nice lady!” Olly added.

“I doubt they would want me in town at this point.” the Hermit mumbled to himself, and straightened up, addressing the young bug. “I’m perfectly fine staying here. I’m sure one day I’ll find someone I love, you needn’t worry about me.”

Olly squinted at the Hermit, judging him harshly.

“Suuuure…” Olly said, and the Hermit huffed.

“Oh, don’t give me that. Things will end up well for me one day. No doubt an eligible mate will find her way to my cave. I don’t need to leave for that to happen.” he said, in denial of the truth.

Olly stared down the Hermit and realized what a depressing life he led. Too afraid to leave his home, vainly hoping one day that love will find its way to his life. The Hermit, clearly uncomfortable with Olly’s silent judgement, stood up and began to nudge the young bug out of the cave.

“I truly think it’s about time you leave, I’m sure your parents are worried sick. Just go straight after leaving the cave and you’ll eventually make it to town.” he said, straightening himself out, “And don’t tell anyone about the ‘real me’, understood? I’d still prefer if the gibbering public left me alone. In fact, you should spread more rumours about me. Some truly horrifying ones, ones that would make everyone want to avoid the forest.”

“Alright.” Olly begrudgingly said, and began to make his way out of the cave, back into the clearing and the forest on his way back home. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As he watched the young bug leave, the Hermit thought about his life, and what led him to this point. He didn’t quite remember how he ended up in Hallownest, all he knew is that he’s lived in this cave for as long as he can remember, avoiding other bugs all the while. He never knew who his parents were, and he never had any bugs in his life aside from the non-sentient one that sat outside of his home. What purpose did his life have? Just to sit around in a cave hoping for purpose to come into his life? Shaking these thoughts from his mind, he stalked back into the cave, the lumafly lamps dimming as the tiny bugs went back to sleep. He needed some sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've finally met the Hermit! Next chapter we'll finally get to some more characters from the canon, so get excited!
> 
> Once again, constructive criticism and general feedback are very appreciated!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed. :)


	3. The Arrest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fight, a foe, and an uneasy resolution.

“You know, you remind me an awful lot of that child. Both of you don’t know when to leave me alone.” the Hermit spitefully remarked, taking a break from telling his story.

The Knight was still sitting in the exact same spot, listening on in rapt curiosity, or at least that’s what it seemed to the Hermit. For all he knew, the Knight could be bored out of its mind, not even listening, or the Hermit’s presumptions about it possibly having sentience could’ve been false. Regardless, the Hermit continued on.

“I’m unsure as to what happened to that child. I do hope he managed to stay safe from the infection, in the least.” he remarked while slumping in his seat. “Well, I suppose it’s not my problem if he didn’t… right?”

The Knight, as per usual, sat perfectly still and didn’t respond or react. Unsurprised but slightly disappointed, the Hermit shook off his uncertainty at the fate of the boy.

“Regardless, where was I? Ah yes, I was at the point where I was about to get some… visitors.” the Hermit said ominously, and for a second he swore the Knight’s head tilted to the side in confusion. “Now we get to the exciting part. I hope you’re ready, insignificant one. Hahah. Let us continue.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When he had told that child to spread more rumours about himself, he had expected it to simply cause bugs to want to avoid the forest more. After all, how horrific of rumours could a child spread? What he didn’t expect was that the rumours that young bug spread would be so terrible that two of the five great knights and a score of Hallownest guards would show up at his cave.

Seeing the group of Hallownest officials approach the clearing in front of his cave, the Hermit ducked down from one of his many lookouts and began to rack his brain. This certainly meant nothing good, and he barely had time to prepare for the arrival of these trained fighters, ones who would undoubtedly defeat him in one-on-one combat. Quickly sprinting throughout his home he began to create traps for the knights who would be entering his home soon. A string of silk to trip intruders, blunt objects that would drop from the ceiling, and a few throwable objects were placed around the cave in preparation for this intrusion. Settling down at the main room of the cave, he laid in wait for the knights to enter his abode.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Approaching the entrance of the cave, Ogrim began to mentally prepare for the inevitable fight that would commence with this horrid beast. He knew not to underestimate this foe, as the revelation that he would be up against a monster that tore young bugs limb from limb while they screamed in agony was still fresh in his mind. He had plenty of backup in the form of the Hallownest guards, and of course he had the lovely Lady Isma by his side. With this much power, he had a good feeling about how this would turn out, in spite of the stories spread about the monster.

“I have a bad feeling about this…” one of the guards anxiously said. Ogrim simply laughed the guard’s concern away.

“Don’t be afraid, young knight! This beast is no match for the King’s Great Knights! I swear it on my knighthood!” he triumphantly declared.

“Yes, this wretched creature will be no match for us.” Isma added, with an air of finality.

“U-understood…” the guard said, clearly not any less anxious about the situation.

Standing at the entrance of the cave, Ogrim and Isma stared into the darkness and prepared to face the Hermit The bug chained next to the cave’s entrance was luckily asleep, rendering it no threat, and multiple guards stayed behind to offer medical assistance should anyone be injured in the fight. It was time. Striding into the cave, Ogrim gallantly made his presence known, his white armour shining brilliantly in the dark of the hollow.

“Creature! I am Ogrim, White Defender of the Five Great Knights! I have come to vanquish you!” he bellowed. Isma followed behind him into the cave, ready to provide backup should things go south. Suddenly, a voice came from within the dark.

“My my, it seems I have company.” the voice said. All at once, every lumafly lamp in the cave lit up, illuminating the owner of the voice for all to see. It was the Hermit, down to every descriptor from the rumours, looking down at the ground.

“I-it can talk?” Ogrim questioned, but he subsequently regained his composure and took a battle stance. “No matter, Lady Isma and I shall defeat you, wretched beast!”

The Hermit stood still for a second, but then his masked face suddenly shot up and stared down the two Great Knights.

“I’d like to see you try.” the Hermit slowly said.

The Hermit immediately jumped back and dashed down a hallway, ducking into another room as Ogrim began to make chase for the monster. As he was following, a string of silk placed just above the ground tripped him, and he collapsed on the ground with a loud thud. Taking this opportunity, the Hermit lunged for Ogrim with a nail in his hand, about to strike at the vulnerable knight. Ogrim rolled out of the way and struck the Hermit in the shoulder, sending him careening across the room. Ogrim’s strike caused a deep gash in the Hermit’s chitin, and he was bleeding hemolymph on the ground at an alarming rate. Standing up and brushing off the pain he picked up a vase that was on the ground next to him and threw it at Ogrim. Ogrim smashed the vase mid-air, causing loads of small shards to scatter in front of his face, distracting him heavily. Taking this opportunity, the Hermit closed the distance between the two fighters and slashed Ogrim in the thorax, causing the knight to stagger. Just as the Hermit was about to go in for another slash, a glob of acid was launched at him. He only barely ducked out of the way, before looking at the source of the sudden attack. It was Isma. Growling, he backed up and began to make his way to where he hid another one of his traps, just as Ogrim had gotten up.

Isma dashed ahead after the monster, and Ogrim quickly followed behind, but before they could make their way to the Hermit they tripped another trap, this one sending many blunt objects on their heads. Ogrim was relatively unaffected by this trap due to his tough shell, however Isma was heavily dazed by the many objects hitting her in the head. Turning a corner and showing himself to the two knights, the Hermit went to slash at Isma but Ogrim noticed this sudden attack. Just as Ogrim was about to strike again, the Hermit shifted his focus to the White Defender and slashed him across the face, sending the knight backwards. He then subsequently slashed at Isma as well, sending a nasty crack across her mask. Isma retaliated by sending another glob of acid, this one hitting its mark as the acid sizzled on the Hermit’s chitin, eliciting a hiss from the monster. Before he could back up, Isma sent another shot of acid, this one hitting the Hermit’s mask, effectively blinding him. He began flailing about in desperation, but he was struck again by Ogrim, sending him down to the ground. Exhausted and bleeding heavily, the Hermit gave up as Isma laid his own nail on his neck.

“Haah, well, what do you have to say, foul fiend?” Isma said, pressing the nail down.

“I- hhh- resign, you have defeated me. But if I may ask for one thing, it is that you do not kill me now.” the Hermit replied.

“Fine. You should be honoured to be allowed the grace of letting the king see your execution.” Isma said spitefully.

“Hah, hahah. It seems Kindly Isma is not so kind today. Hah.” the Hermit laughed, coughing up hemolymph between words.

“Be quiet cretin, before I go back on my word and kill you here.” Isma harshly retorted, before slowly sighing, the exhaustion from the battle beginning to get to her. She began to judge the Hermit, grumbling under her breath, “To target and kill children, such a wretched, horrid, disgusting beast. You deserve all the suffering the king will inevitably bestow upon you.”

The Hermit was too tired to argue, and wasn’t necessarily in the mood to further anger the bug with a nail above his neck. Ogrim stepped into the picture, having been bandaged up by the guards who had now entered the cave.

“We are ready to transport the beast.” Ogrim spoke, as the guards began to approach the prone Hermit. 

Isma released the nail from his neck and the guards hoisted his body onto their backs, beginning to walk out of the cave. Ogrim stared at the Hermit and began to ponder. He hadn’t noticed any of the torture devices or bodies that the rumours had said would be in the cave, and he hadn’t expected the creature to be able to talk, much less be able to reason. He quickly shook these thoughts from his head, his king had ordered him to do this mission and he would not get doubts now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The jail cell the Hermit had been locked in was just as brilliantly white as the rest of the palace. Every single surface of every single room was pure white, and after a while of being stuck in the White Palace, it began to get nauseating. The Hermit was chained up in his cell, his arms bound behind his back and legs and thorax attached to a chair. Every once in a while he tried to squirm his way out of his bindings, but it always proved fruitless, the chains imbued with some kind of magical energy. It was a miserable time being stuck in this cell for days and days on end, and the Hermit almost regretted pleading for his life. Almost.

By now he had already planned a way to escape his oncoming execution, his goal was to demand to speak to the king and attempt to reason with the monarch by disproving the rumours. He was fairly confident in his ability to prove his innocence, after all one sweep of his cave would reveal no corpses or bloodshed within. Plus, the Hermit had seen the doubt in the eyes of that knight, Ogrim, and figured he could appeal to his emotional side to get a supporter. Even despite all of these things, the Hermit couldn’t help but feel unease. He didn’t know where this dread came from, or why it felt so powerful, but he could just tell that something wouldn’t go his way.

Suddenly, the slamming of a jail cell disrupted his thoughts. The cell to the right of his had been closed, and he could sense a presence on the other side. Hoping for some conversation to ease his nerves, the Hermit called out to the other prisoner.

“Hello?” he uttered. The other prisoner, shocked at the sudden greeting, managed a confused greeting of his own.

“Er, hello? What do you want?” he spoke.

“What is your name, fellow prisoner?” the Hermit said.

“My name is Xero.” the prisoner replied, “What is yours?”

“I am known as the Hermit.” he said, and Xero let out a sound of shock.

“YOU are the Hermit?! I thought it was a mere legend!” Xero exclaimed, “I suppose that explains why you are here in this jail then.”

“Why are you here?” the Hermit questioned.

“I turned my blade against the king. I’m set to be executed in a few days.” Xero responded.

“I’m set to be executed today. Although I have a plan to stop it from happening.” the Hermit said, and Xero simply laughed.

“Well, I hope that goes well for you. If you have ended up here your fate is already doomed.” Xero morosely remarked. If the Hermit was able to see Xero, he would have noticed the prisoner’s eyes glow a faint orange as he said these words.

The cells were left in silence after this interaction until a group of guards made their way to the Hermit’s cell. Unlocking the door, they walked forward and proceeded to undo the chains on his chair to bring him out.

“It’s time, monster.” a voice spoke, and looking at the source of the voice revealed Lady Isma. Behind her was Ogrim, looking on with hesitation.

“WAIT!” the Hermit bellowed, and the guards instinctively raised their nails at the monster, but after a moment passed they lowered their guards.

“Before I am executed, I demand an audience with the king himself!” the Hermit firmly said, and nearly all of the guards gasped at these words. The amount of gall for a prisoner to demand audience with the great Pale King himself is immeasurable, and many of the guards thought to slay this monster now for his insolence. Isma looked on at the Hermit, pondering his request.

“Fine. I will see if the Pale King will allow you to speak with Him.” she said slowly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You clearly have a deathwish, daring to DEMAND to speak with the king.” Isma mumbled under her breath, but the Hermit managed to overhear her words and simply scoffed.

The room was filled with the king's court, all speaking to each other at once, filling the palace with a white noise that only added to the Hermit’s mysterious stress. Their words were clearly about him, if their judging glances were anything to go by. The king’s knights were also present, with Hegemol and Ogrim having a conversation of their own. The occupants of the room had been waiting for the king and queen for quite a while, and uncertainty as to whether they would show up at all was beginning to grow throughout the room. Regardless, the Hermit mentally prepared his words for when the king would eventually show up.

“I’m still in disbelief that the king accepted your request. I was under the impression that He would deny you immediately.” Isma spoke.

“Perhaps he knows something you don’t?” the Hermit smugly replied, to which Isma immediately growled.

“Silence, cretin!” she snapped, which only caused the Hermit to chuckle, angering her further.

Just as Isma was about to unleash her wrath on the monster, Ogrim, having finished his conversation with Hegemol, walked over to her and gently laid his claw on her back. This action immediately calmed her, and she raised up her hand to wrap her fingers around Ogrim’s arm. The Hermit simply stared on in amusement at the two knights. He was about to say something when a pair of doors near the thrones slammed open, revealing the Pale King in all his glory. His light shone so brightly, that it could’ve blinded every bug in the room, it was a miracle it didn’t. All at once, the king’s court gasped and bowed, and the knights followed suit. The only one who didn’t bow was the Hermit, which earned a glare from Isma. The Pale King seemed unbothered and strode into the room, followed by the White Lady, and they both made their way to their respective thrones and sat down.

“Your highness,” Isma started, while kneeling, “this creature demanded an audience with you.”

“This was foreseen.” the Pale King said slowly, and the Hermit looked up at the monarch.

“So I suppose you already know how this meeting will end?” the Hermit questioned, grinning underneath his mask. The Pale King gave a curt nod in response.

“Your highness.” the Hermit spoke, “I understand why you have been led to believe otherwise, but the rumours that have been spread about me are all false. I plead for you to rethink my execution.”

“And on what grounds do you claim to be innocent of murdering children?” the king said knowingly, as if going through certain motions.

“A simple survey of my cave will reveal no dead or bloodshed.” the Hermit replied.

“Then where do the rumours come from?” the king inquired.

“Admittedly, I maintained a habit of scaring away children who wandered into my side of the forest. However, I meant no harm by it. I merely wanted to be left alone.” the Hermit admitted. 

“While such behaviour indicates guilt, I am tempted to pardon you.” the Pale King said, although just as the Hermit was getting his hopes up, the king continued, “I will have to look over your cave to see if what you say is true but-”

“Your majesty.” said a voice, and looking over to the source revealed the White Defender, Ogrim, barely managing to look the Pale King in the eyes. All eyes in the court were on the knight, and while such pressure would make any other bug break, Ogrim took it in stride and directly faced the king.

“As I was in his cave when we went to retrieve him, I can attest to the fact that his cave held no evidence of a murderous past. I truly believe that he is innocent.” Ogrim said. Isma gawked at Ogrim’s words, partially proud of him for standing up for what he believes is right and partially disappointed in him for defending a monster. Isma decided to speak up and voice her opinion on the subject.

“Just because there was no evidence when we were there doesn’t mean he couldn’t have hidden it before our arrival.” Isma retorted, but Ogrim was fervent in his belief.

“How would he have known we were on the way? Lady Isma, please, this bug is not the monster you believe him to be!” Ogrim reasoned.

“You both offer good points.” the Pale King said. He seemed to be in thought, and he turned to the White Lady.

“My root, what do you think?” the Pale King muttered. The White Lady leaned in and whispered something, and the king appeared to ponder her words.

“Well, I have decided.” the Pale King announced, “Hermit, your execution shall be cancelled, and you are no longer a prisoner.” Just as the Hermit was about to celebrate, the king spoke again.

“However,” he said, and the Hermit felt that mysterious sense of dread again. “You are not allowed to return to your home.”

…

“WHAT?!” the Hermit bellowed, and the Pale King quickly followed up on his previous statement.

“You are to stay here, in the palace, your new place of residence.” he said with an air of finality, and the court immediately went into an uproar.

Bugs were talking over each other frantically, shocked by the words that the king himself had uttered. The knights were in disbelief, Isma in particular being taken aback by this decree. Even the White Lady herself was surprised, her eyes widened into an expression of shock. The constant chittering persisted for a moment, before the Pale King’s voice cut through the commotion.

“SILENCE!” he roared, and the court immediately went quiet, aside from a few bugs mumbling apologies and bowing in his direction. “My decision is final. Your belongings are to be retrieved from your cave and relocated to the palace.”

The Pale King continued to speak, but it fell on deaf ears to the Hermit. Now he understood why he had felt such dread before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter done. Hope everyone has had a very happy holiday!
> 
> The next chapter of this story probably won't come out as soon as others as I have to plan out the next few chapters in advance. In the meantime, I'll probably make more one-shots like Desiccated.
> 
> Once again, feedback and criticism are highly appreciated!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed. :)


	4. The Dreamers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A palace, a plead, a group wearing masks.

“And that was the story of how I met Hallownest’s royalty.”

The Hermit gazed down at the little ghost, expecting it to leave after having listened to his story, but instead it continued to sit still and stare ahead.

“Well? You may leave now.” the Hermit expectantly said, “I explained how I met Hallownest’s royalty, end of story, there isn’t more.”

Unsurprisingly, the Knight did not move at all. Its gaze was as cold as always, and the hollow stare bore into the Hermit’s soul. It was surprisingly convincing. 

“Agh, fine, fine. I suppose I could tell you about… what happened while I was in the White Palace? Maybe?” the Hermit offered, but the Knight just continued to stare ahead. The Hermit sighed.

“I really don’t know what you want from me, insignificant one.”

Another blank stare. If he wasn’t so exasperated, the Hermit might get irritated at this lack of communication from the Knight. Standing up from his chair, he began to make his way out of his nest.

“I’ll be right back, I’m just going to get something to eat from my kitchen.” he explained, then faded into the hallway.

The Knight got up from where it was sitting and took the opportunity to search around the nest for anything of note. Alongside the typical brown cloths that adorned every room of the cave, there were a few paintings on the walls as well. They usually depicted flowers or nobles, all with the colour white heavily prominent. They didn’t really seem to be the type of paintings that the Hermit would display, but the Knight paid no mind to it, for it could not. A dresser was stationed in the corner of the room with a large mirror just above it, and the Knight immediately began to pilfer through its contents. A few of the Hermit’s cloaks and some other personal belongings such as a heart-shaped locket were stored inside, but what the Knight was drawn to was a letter stowed away in the corner of one of the dresser drawers, all crumpled up. Pulling it out and unfurling it revealed its contents;

“Hermit,

All of your belongings have been packaged up and are ready to be brought with you. You will be escorted by a group of royal retainers and the White Defender. I will not be seeing you out. While I implore you to rethink your decision, I have a feeling that you do not plan on doing so. Just remember that you may come to… regret this, in the future. That is all. I would say I wish you the best, however that would be disingenuous.”

Suddenly, slow footsteps came from behind the Knight as a low growl was uttered.

“ _Don’t you know it’s rude to pilfer through other bugs’ belongings?_ ” the Hermit said slowly behind the Knight, an air of danger in his voice. “ _A less civilized bug wouldn’t have the… calmest reaction to that, you know._ ”

As he spoke these words, he lifted up his mask and took a large bite out of the dead Crawlid he was holding, his massive jaws being revealed to the Knight. Pulling his mask back down, the Hermit regarded the Knight with amusement.

“I suppose it isn’t in your capability to know any better.” he mused, “A lack of sentience is a blessing in disguise, you’re quite lucky.” 

Sitting back down in the chair he continued.

“Now, I believe I was about to tell you about life in the White Palace, yes?” he questioned as the Knight sat back down on the ground. “Well, here is how it went.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It hadn’t even been a full week since the Hermit had moved into the White Palace before he was already trying to find a way to leave. He had attempted to reason with the Pale King many times to let him out, but the monarch would not budge on his decision. He had also tried many other things in an attempt to get to leave, such as bribing royal retainers to badmouth him in front of the king, forging notes from the White Lady (lucky that one of his retainers happened to secretly be master forger on the side), and even threatening the Pale King himself, all to no avail. The king just shrugged these things off, in spite of how devious his attempts to escape were. He couldn’t even figure out why the Pale King kept him around! Whenever he asked, the king would just answer vaguely.

“You’ll see.” the king would say, which only further irritated the Hermit.

Living in the palace was miserable. The Hermit always hated being around other bugs, and in the palace, he was forced to be in the company of others nearly all the time. The only times he was alone were when he retired to his room at night, which he always eagerly looked forward to. He especially hated having retainers, those bugs would tell him what to do, how to do it, and why to do it at every opportunity they got, which drove him mad. He just wanted to be left alone and to his own devices, but in the palace he wasn’t allowed that luxury.

He was shaken from his bitter musings on his situation when a knock came from the door to his room. Walking over, the door opened revealing one of his retainers, whose name he hadn’t bothered to learn. The door to his room had to be opened by one of the retainers, as he didn’t own the key to the various locks around the White Palace. It wasn’t actually a key, but a small sphere that focused the light that permeated the palace onto the locks to open them. It was a fairly impressive technology, however it meant that the Hermit couldn’t go to his room when he wanted and had to be let in by a retainer, much to his chagrin. As a result, he usually spent most of his time just wandering around the palace aimlessly until one of his retainers retrieved him to get him to eat a meal.

“Sir? Sir!” the retainer shouted, which broke his stream of consciousness. “I said, the Pale King wanted to speak with you in his office.”

“Ah. Ah yes, fine.” the Hermit agreed, and before he knew it the retainer had begun dragging him in the direction of the office.

The White Palace was positively massive and ridiculously easy to get yourself lost in. Well, at least the Hermit thought so. The retainer didn’t seem to as he guided the Hermit through the palace with ease. Much like the prison that he was stuck in not that many days ago, every single surface of the palace was pure white, and while he had started to get used to the nauseating brightness of the place, he still didn’t particularly like it. There were a few things about the palace he didn’t mind all too much, however they were few and far between. As much as he hated dealing with others, the White Lady was surprisingly good company, and the food the palace chefs served was to die for. That was the most he could say positively, as his bitterness towards his living situation prevented him from enjoying anything else about the place.

Eventually, after a mind-numbing walk throughout the palace, the Hermit and the retainer reached the entrance to the king’s office. The doorway was quite beautiful, as was the door, which was clearly constructed with a lot of dedication and care. The retainer knocked on it.

“You may come in.” the Pale King said on the other side, and the retainer pushed the door open and shoved the Hermit into the room and shut the door, earning a growl out of him.

The inside of the king’s office was just as ornate as the rest of the palace, with gorgeous columns in the corners of the room and a finely crafted desk at the center. The Pale King sat behind the desk with an upright posture, and he addressed the bug who had just entered his office.

“Ah, Hermit. It is a pleasure to see you again.” he said respectfully, and the Hermit simply scoffed.

“Yes, yes, what is it you want?” he curtly said, clearly not interested in wasting any time.

“No nonsense, hmm? Alright, I’ll get right to it.” the king responded, and pulled a familiar-looking orb from underneath the desk, “I am going to bestow upon you a Lightbringer Orb, which will allow you to open the locks around the White Palace. Please take good care of it, it is quite valuable”

The Hermit hastily grabbed the orb out of the Pale King’s hands, and regarded the object with reverence.

“Thank you so much. Now I can finally let myself into my own room and be LEFT ALONE.” the Hermit remarked, and despite his own formality, the king let out a chuckle.

“You are now officially living in the palace.” the king said, and the Hermit took on a sour expression under his mask at these words. He was about to say something, but bit his tongue.

“You may leave now, I have another appointment in a few moments.” the king said, dismissing the bug in his office, but the Hermit didn’t move from his spot, not willing to let go of the issue he had had for the last few days.

“No. Not yet. I need to know: if I can’t leave now, when CAN I leave?” the Hermit forcefully inquired, and the Pale King let out a hum.

The Hermit stood in unbearable silence for a long minute as the king studied him for what seemed like ages. The king’s face was unreadable, and the Hermit, despite his previous boldness, was starting to get worried he had crossed a line. Doubling down, he decided to further prod at the monarch.

“ _Well?_ Answer me.” the Hermit said sharply.

“You will leave when the moment is right. That is all.” the Pale King said with an air of finality, “Now please, I will have other matters to attend to soon so you must lea-”

“What do you mean, ‘ _When the moment is right_ ’?! Give me a straight answer already!” the Hermit shouted, not dissuaded at all by the king’s words. The king let out an exasperated sigh.

“Hermit, now is not the t-” the king was about to say but was cut short by multiple loud thuds on the door. The king let out another sigh. “Come in.”

The door slammed open, and in walked three figures, each with masks. One was a short bug, fully cloaked and wearing a mask with one eyehole. Another was a large tentacled, translucent floating being with a 4-eyed mask. And finally, a massive spider with a 6-eyed mask. The Hermit stepped aside, his anger at the Pale King turned into a fascination with the new bugs who had just entered the room. They were quite the odd bunch for certain.

“Well Wyrm, we’re here.” the spider declared. She had quite the raspy voice. “Who’s your friend here?”

For the umpteenth time today, the Pale King let out another loud sigh.

“This is the Hermit.” the king said, and the spider immediately began to judge the Hermit harshly, looking him up and down. The short bug let out a gasp at the Pale King’s words.

“Wh-what?! A-a-a-are you sure it’s s-safe to have such a monster in here?!” the short bug fearfully exclaimed.

“I’m not some kind of savage!” the Hermit shouted, and the short bug immediately hid behind the large spider at this outburst.

“Calm down, both of you.” the king reasoned, “The Hermit is no monster. Everything is perfectly safe.”

Suddenly, the large spider stepped right in front of the Hermit, startling him. Despite not being all that much taller than him, she was very imposing.

“And what’s your name, then?” she prodded.

“You already know my name, I’m the Hermit.” he defensively replied.

“No, your real name.” she clarified, and the Hermit could feel the blush creeping across his face.

“I-I don’t want to say it.” he retorted, but the large spider didn’t relent.

“What, is there an _issue_ with it?” she said, a mocking lilt in her voice.

“It’s… it’s…” he started.

“ _Yes?_ ”

“My name is… Maup.”

There was a moment of silence.

“What a… STUPID NAME!” the large spider exclaimed, and immediately began to cackle louder than the Hermit had ever heard anyone cackle before. The other 2 masked individuals began to laugh as well, the short one letting out a few cautious laughs and the floating being holding a tentacle in front of their mask and giggling. Even the Pale King was chuckling.

While a glare managed to shut the short bug up, the others couldn’t stop laughing, especially the large spider, who was laughing so hard that the Hermit was honestly somewhat alarmed.

“Be quiet, you simpletons!” the Hermit shouted at everyone in the room, but they wouldn’t stop.

After a painful few moments of being ridiculed by their laughter, the commotion settled down. The large spider let out a breath and regarded the Hermit again.

“I like you. You’re quite entertaining.” she said. The Hermit just grumbled in reply. “Well, I have to speak to the king. We can chat more later, how does that sound, _Maup?_ ”

The Hermit simply grumbled again as he stepped out of the way so that the large spider could speak to the king more directly. The short bug followed, sending a few cautious glances at the Hermit. The two of them began talking with the king, however the Hermit didn’t pay attention for long as the only one who didn’t follow the spider, the floating being, approached the Hermit and began to speak to him.

“I must ask, Mr. Hermit, what kind of bug are you?” she inquired calmly, and the Hermit let out a pleased sigh from not being teased for once.

“Ah, I’m a locust, in fact.” he answered, and the floating being let out a hum.

“Hmm, interesting. You don’t see many around Hallownest.” she noted.

“Well I wouldn’t know, I’ve led a very private life.” he replied.

“I can only assume, haha. Have you not interacted with any other bugs?” she asked.

“No, not really. I just stay alone for the most part.”

“What about your parents?” she questioned.

“Ah, er, I don’t know who my parents are…” the Hermit replied somberly, and the floating figure gasped.

“Oh dear! I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.” she hastily said.

“No, it’s okay. You couldn’t have known.” he replied, the floating figure letting out a breath she was holding. 

“Er, well, to change the subject, what do you happen to be doing here in the palace?” she asked, and the Hermit shrugged.

“At this point, I don’t know. I was brought from my home to the palace, and now I just… stay around the palace.” he replied. “What are you doing in the palace?”

“Well, I’m here because I’m one of the dreamers. I’m Monomon the Teacher, and I run the Teacher’s Archives in the Fog Canyon.”

Monomon explained what she does at the Archives, and her role as a dreamer, and what that entails. According to her, she and the other dreamers will be put into a deep sleep to seal a temple in Forgotten Crossroads, in order to protect a supposedly hollow “vessel” that will contain the infection. She also spoke about the other dreamers in detail and revealed their names; Herrah the Beast, and Lurien the Watcher. Herrah was the queen of Deepnest, ruler of the weavers, and she had a daughter with the king by the name of Hornet (that one took some explaining). Lurien was the one who ran the City of Tears, overlooking the city in his spire, and was one of the king’s most loyal subjects. In turn, the Hermit spoke about his life in the forests of Willden, the rumours and legends around his existence, and spoke more in-depth on how he ended up in the palace. Despite himself, he found himself actually getting along with another individual. They had a lovely chat, but it was cut short by a certain spider who had become rather agitated by their conversation.

“Hey! We’re trying to discuss important matters over here! How do you feel about taking your conversation outside and distracting us less!” Herrah harshly shouted.

“Ah, well I believe we should leave then.” Monomon said, and the Hermit opened the door of the office and they both left the room.

Stepping outside, they were about to get back to talking when the Hermit saw a familiar face standing nearby. It was Lady Isma, waiting for her turn to discuss with the king. Isma turned her head and made eye contact with the Hermit, and even though she was wearing a mask he could tell she began to glare at him. She strode forward to the two standing outside the king’s office and got right in the Hermit’s face, letting out a low hiss.

“Know this, monster. You may have the king on your side, but I still don’t trust you. Pray we don’t meet alone in the halls of the palace, lest you may lose your life.” she coldly said, then stalked away, her footsteps echoing in the hallway. Once Isma had turned the corner, Monomon leaned in and whispered to the Hermit.

“Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I believe that she isn’t particularly fond of you.”


	5. The Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A get-together, a scheme, and an understanding

“I assume you want more?” the Hermit questioned.

The Knight didn’t move an inch from the spot where it was sat.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” he said, before getting right back into his story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Hermit stood in the mirror, looking over the new cloak he had been gifted by the White Lady for today’s events. It was rather gaudy in his opinion, although granted everything in the White Palace was quite gaudy. While he would have much rather worn his usual tattered brown cloak, the White Palace was hosting a party today and he wasn’t allowed to wear his common clothes. No, instead he had to wear this white cloak that draped down far past his waist, getting stuck on his joints. He was already sick of the party, and it hadn’t even started yet.

Now that he thought about it, it was quite surprising that a party was being hosted at the White Palace at all, given that the Pale King didn’t really seem like the party-goer type. It was probably the White Lady that was hosting this get-together. The Hermit had an equal amount of contempt towards both of them for this situation, regardless of whose idea the party really was. It meant that he would have to deal with his least favourite thing: social interaction. Hopefully Monomon would be there, she was one of the more tolerable people to talk to he’d met.

He had to leave his room eventually, he couldn’t avoid this forever. Walking away from the mirror, he made his way to the door and opened it. He closed it behind him and used his Lightbringer Orb to lock it behind him, and began to make his way to the main hall where the party would be taking place. The palace halls were adorned with flowers of all kinds, most of them white much like the rest of the palace, but a few that were a light pink or red. Wandering through the halls of the palace was mind-numbing, but it gave him some time before the inevitable stress of dealing with other bugs. His steps echoed throughout the halls, but before long they were drowned out by the sound of the chittering of bugs talking as he neared the main hall.

The main hall was even more regally decorated than the halls of the palace, the white flowers being replaced with vivid blues, red, green, yellow, and nearly every other colour imaginable. The decorators clearly went all out, and as result the hall was a dazzling environment The Hermit had to admit, it was quite pretty, but all admiring of the hall’s decorations stopped when someone took notice of his appearance. Letting out a gasp and practically jumping up in the air, the bug, who was some noble, immediately drew all of the eyes of the main hall onto the Hermit. Hushed whispers began as nearly all of the bugs in the hall judged him, their eyes staring him down in a mix of fear and contempt. Letting out a huff, he began to make his way towards the massive group of bugs. The crowd immediately dispersed away from him as he made his way to the other side of the hall where the king and queen were, the bugs clearly attempting to avoid the monster that had made his way into the party. Once he had reached the king and queen, the latter greeted him warmly.

“Ah, Hermit. It’s wonderful to see you. What do you think of the party?”

“It’s nice, your highness.” he replied.

“Good! I spent a lot of time planning it.” she said, elated.

“Um, what exactly is the _point_ of the party?” the Hermit questioned.

“We had an announcement to make. You missed it.” the Pale King said harshly.

The Hermit looked at the Pale King. He was still angry at the king for his refusal to let him leave, but the Hermit decided it was probably for the best not to bring it up in front of all these bugs. Stood next to the king was his Pure Vessel, rigid and emotionless as ever. Simply looking at that thing made the Hermit uneasy, it was a terrifying being for certain. Also present was a little face perched up above the king’s head, looking down at the Hermit with curiosity. This was presumably the king’s daughter, Hornet. The Hermit could only assume that she was responsible for the king’s sour mood, for all intents and purposes he didn’t seem like a child-friendly type of bug. Hornet pointed at the Hermit quizzically.

“Papa, who’s that?” she asked. The Pale King let out a long sigh.

“That’s the Hermit, dear. He’s a resident of the palace.” he replied.

Hornet’s eyes widened as she looked closer at the Hermit, before beginning to wave at him enthusiastically.

“Nice to meetchu! I’m Hornet!” she said, and the Hermit simply chuckled and waved back.

“Same to you too, small one.”

Looking back at the crowd, while some of the bugs pretended they weren’t paying attention, most were still staring right at him, speaking under their breath to each other. The Hermit really didn’t like being the center of attention, it made him feel nauseous, but he choked down his discomfort and turned back to the White Lady.

“Well, I hope you continue to enjoy the party.” she said, “My Wyrm and I have some things to talk about.”

“I’ll see you later, your highness.” he responded.

“Likewise.”

“ **Goodbye.** ” the king said tersely.

As he walked away, he could hear the White Lady scold the king on his tone, but the Hermit didn’t really care. He just wanted to find Monomon, she’d make enduring this gathering less grueling. Making his way through the crowd wasn’t hard as every bug moved out of his way when he walked close, regarding him scornfully. He tried not to let it get to him as he searched and searched for the Teacher. Despite the fact that she would presumably stand out given her unique appearance, he struggled to find her, and felt as if he was going in circles throughout the crowd. At this point, he was wondering if she was even present at the party anymore. He could feel the eyes of every bug around him boring into his soul, and he was starting to get panicked. The crowd felt like a maze that he couldn’t escape from. He was trying to pretend not to be freaking out as he wandered through the crowd, but his facade was falling, and he could feel himself jittering. Just as he was about lash out at those around him, a voice broke his thoughts.

“Cre- er, Hermit! Good day to you!”

The Hermit turned to look at the source of the voice, and his eyes laid upon a noblebug that was waving at him, with a face of encouragement. The Hermit didn’t trust that look. Begrudgingly, he made his way to the noble who appeared to be delighted at his approach.

“Nice to meet you, kind sir. My name Leonus Arivee the Third. What is your name?” he inquired.

Leonus was dressed as many of the other nobles were, clad in red robes and gaudy golden jewelry, but he also wore a bright yellow brimmed hat. The colour combination made him look ridiculous, but he didn’t seem to care, in fact he seemed to take great pride in his appearance, as most nobles did. His beady eyes stared at the Hermit, and while another might be suckered in by his friendly demeanor, the Hermit was highly suspicious.

“Just call me the Hermit.” the Hermit tiredly said.

“Ah, er, understood!” Leonus hastily said, “These are my fellow nobles…”

Leonus went on to list off all of the nobles in the little group they were in, but the Hermit didn’t pay attention to any of their names. He didn’t care enough to learn them, he just wanted to talk to Monomon. Regardless, after prattling on for an agonizing moment, Leonus was finally done saying all of the nobles’ names. One of the shorter nobles, a young bug with a long dress, stepped closer to him.

“H-hello. You’re… um…” she started.

“... _Yes?_ ”

“You’re… quite t-tall, aren’t you?”

…

…

…

“Why yes. Yes I am.” the Hermit said dryly.

…

…

… 

“Who allowed _you_ to come to the party?”

The Hermit’s head immediately whipped around to look at the bug who had just spoken. The bug looked like any other noble, but had an indignant look on his face. The Hermit’s masked gaze was fixed to the puny noblebug, all three eyeholes glaring deep. Despite staring down the much smaller and weaker bug down, the noblebug didn’t flinch under his gaze and instead prodded further.

“Well? Answer me, creature,”

The Hermit stepped closer, eyes twitching underneath his mask. His breathing began to quicken as all of the other bugs around him seemed to fade away. All he could see was this one noblebug.

“Can’t talk? I figured a stupid beast like you would at least manage a few words.” the noblebug continued to prod, “Now speak to me already, you freak!”

At this point, the Hermit’s hemolymph was boiling. Despite living the lie that he was a monster for ages, being called a freak right to his face hurt a lot. His claws began to shake, and he started raising them into the air. He was looming over the noblebug now, and just as he stepped forward again…!

“Ahaha! Well, that’s Keiran for you! Always blunt! Ahaha!” Leonus frantically said, stepping in-between the Hermit and the noblebug and bumping them away.

The Hermit lowered his claws and took a deep breath in. Then he breathed out. Then back in. Then back out. The stress of the day was getting to him, he needed to calm down.

“What I believe Keiran was trying to say, was what a cr- what you happened to be doing at the party?” Leonus inquired. The Hermit let out a sigh.

“Well, I recently moved into the palace, and I’m attending the party only out of obligation.”

“Ah, I see.” Leonus said, before giving a grin that sent a wave of unease through the Hermit. “You must certainly be tired of dealing with royalty all the time, am I right?”

The Hermit was caught off guard by the noble’s words and coughed into his claw before replying.

“Ah, well, I suppose I am. The king has been getting on my nerves, to be honest.”

“Yes, yes. And this palace is simply ostentatious!” Leonus added.

“Hm. It is, I agree. I hate how everything is pure white, it drives me insane.”

“Only a creation of the most arrogant beings known to bugkind, frankly. They enact such ridiculous rules on us nobles.”

“Given my treatment by them, I can’t say that surprises me.”

“Ahhhh, you must be treated so unjustly by those wretched royals…”

“I really am. They don’t even tell me why they keep me around in the palace!”

“We agree on this, it seems.” Leonus observed, before giving another large grin. “I don’t suppose you might be willing to listen to an… idea that I’ve had?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Parties made Lurien miserable. Dealing with nobles trying to haggle tax cuts and attempt to earn favours took its toll on him after a while. He would often excuse himself to the lavoratories simply to get some time away from others, but he always had to come back to the party at some point. Such was his duty as the Watcher, to listen to the issues of citizens and attempt to help them, even if it meant dealing with unpleasant types. As much as he loved working for his dear king, there were rare times when he wished he had another occupation. He was wandering through the crowd, doing his best to ignore any nobles that attempted to get his attention. The announcement that the king and queen organized the party for had long since ended, but the party itself was only just hitting its peak. The chittering and chattering of bugs of all types filled the main hall, and while dealing with bugs (specifically nobles) tended to wear him down, the sound of activity put a smile on his face. No one would’ve been able to see the smile however, as his one-eyed mask blocked any view of his face. While absently wandering around, his eye was drawn to a large figure standing next to some other nobles. It didn’t take him long to figure out who it was.

Lurien’s heart immediately began to race. Why was that creature here?! It could attack someone! It was dangerous! He was in a full-blown panic when he remembered his king’s words. The creature wasn’t dangerous, everything was fine. He had to tell that to himself multiple times to calm down, but even still he felt anxious looking at the gangly figure that was the Hermit. The beast had replaced its brown cloak with a white one, which Lurien assumed had been given to it by the king or queen. He was quite surprised to see nobles interacting with the Hermit, he figured that most of the high-class would either be afraid as he was or be disgusted by having to share space with a savage. Most nobles wouldn’t interact with a commoner unless they had a very good reason to, and that immediately made Lurien suspicious. He pushed down his fear of the Hermit for this one moment and approached the group, hoping to listen in on their conversation.

He could just barely hear what they were talking about over the commotion, but it seemed the subject of conversation was about the king and queen. The words they spoke were highly critical of the rulers, and Lurien felt anger overtake him hearing this. How dare they question the rule of the just Pale King!? Approaching further, he tried to listen in better on the conversation.

“...agree on this, it seems.” the noble who was speaking to the Hermit observed, before giving another large grin. “I don’t suppose you might be willing to listen to an… idea that I’ve had?”

Lurien immediately didn’t like where this conversation was going. Nobles had their issues with the king and queen, and multiple times Lurien had to interfere with plans to disrupt or even betray the kingdom. If they managed to get a beast like the Hermit on their side, some serious damage could be dealt. In spite of himself, Lurien also found himself worried for the Hermit, strangely. When the nobles were done with that creature, they would likely cast it aside to die on the streets of the City of Tears, or possibly even crueler fates should the families they come from deal in less than legal affairs. The voice of the Hermit broke Lurien’s thoughts.

“An idea? What kind of idea?”

Lurien needed to break this up, NOW. Quickly striding into the group he announced his presence with a loud cough.

“Mr. Hermit. There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.” he said, and the Hermit tilted his head in confusion. Lurien continued, “I’m very sorry sirs and madams, but I need to speak with Mr. Hermit privately. Mr. Hermit, can you please follow me out of the main hall?”

“Ahaha, t-that’s quite fine, yes! We would never want to disrupt you, Watcher!” Leonus said, anger being poorly hidden by a thin smile. “Hermit, we can speak later.”

Leonus pulled out a piece of silk paper with the location of his estate on it and handed it to the Hermit who grabbed it. Lurien swiftly began to drag the Hermit out of the crowd and over to a room at the side of the main hall, earning looks from the partygoers and a growl out of the Hermit. Shutting the door behind him, he snatched the piece of silk paper out of the Hermit’s claws and ripped it in half, then threw it behind him. Letting out a sigh, Lurien took in the room that he was in. It was a dark storage room of some kind, filled with the necessary materials for the party that was going on. The room was absent of any individuals, and Lurien came to a realization. He was alone in a dark room with a monster. Slowly turning around to face the Hermit, he could feel the judgement from the monster boring into his soul.

“Ah, er, h-h-hello.” Lurien stammered.

“ _What did you want from me?_ ”

Lurien let out a peep and shuffled away from the Hermit quickly, getting a safe distance from the creature. He steeled himself and then did his best to reply.

“Ah, w-well… it p-probably isn’t b-best to interact with the, erm, nobles. They aren’t particularly t-trustworthy.”

“ _You think?_ ” the Hermit replied condescendingly, and Lurien could almost feel his heart go out from fear.

“N-not that I mean to imply you didn’t already know that!” he hastily said. “Just that I-”

“ _Lurien._ ”

Lurien almost jumped out of his carapace upon hearing this beast utter his name, and silently thanked the Pale King for all of the years he was able to work under the monarch, expecting intense pain to be delivered upon him any second.

“You don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m not a monster.” the Hermit slowly spoke.

“H-how can I trust you?!” Lurien frantically responded.

“Maybe by the fact that I haven’t maimed you yet?”

Lurien paused for a second. It was true, he had never actually been attacked by the creature at all. And he didn’t actually know if the rumours were true. He should’ve believed his king. Lurien silently cursed himself for his insolence. He lifted his head up to the Hermit, looking directly at its, or rather his, mask.

“I think I trust you.” he said, and the Hermit let out a chuckle.

“Hah. Took you long enough.”

“Anyways, back to my original point. You really should avoid nobles, especially THAT noble. I believe he comes from the Arivee family, a family notorious for their… history. I’m unsure as to why he was even invited.” Lurien added with a more serious tone.

“Yes, I figured. That noble rubbed me the wrong way, to be frank.” the Hermit replied.

“We can return to the party if you’d like.” Lurien offered, but the Hermit shook his head.

“I hate parties.” he said.

“Hm. As do I.” Lurien responded

“Would you like to simply chat here a while longer?” the Hermit asked, and Lurien thought about it for a moment.

“I suppose we could.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a bit iffy on this chapter as a whole, but I still thoroughly enjoyed writing it. 
> 
> Sorry it took so long to make, I wasn't expecting to spend as much time as I did on it.
> 
> It might be a little while until the next chapter as I have to come up with a plan for the next few chapters. I'll still be writing one-shots though!
> 
> Once again, constructive criticism and general feedback are very appreciated.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed. :)


End file.
